


Three times Nate almost kissed Sam and the time he actually did

by FanFicReader01



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Bromance, Brother/Brother Incest, First Kiss, Fluff, Incest, Kissing, M/M, Sibling Incest, kind of au since the first part never happened, so if you're offended don't read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-11 04:05:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7027804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFicReader01/pseuds/FanFicReader01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nate likes his older brother a lot. But maybe he liked him in another way than just as brotherly love?<br/>Three times Nate almost gave into his desires to kiss Sam and the time he actually did kiss his brother</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The old days

**Author's Note:**

> So i've never played previous games :(  
> nor did I play 4 (still gotta buy the game) but I watched some walkthroughs which got me into the game :D  
> So be aware, the characters might be OOC, so sorry for that. Mainly fluff, but mayble I'll add some subtle smut later on. This fic, like all of my fics in fact, is not beta'd  
> Hope you'll enjoy this anyway :D

_ First time _

__

_Satisfied the young brothers Drake sat on the roof of a high building, looking at the stars. It was a soft summer night and there was a little breeze. Nate panted a little after their long climb to the top, but the view he had from that roof made it worth the climb. In fact, being together with his beloved older brother made everything worth Nate’s time._

_This wasn’t the first time Sam actually “broke” Nate out of the orphanage just so they could spend some time together. Sam knew that Nate didn’t like it there, that he would rather be with his older brother. Going on adventures, riding on the motorcycle together, being free and wild._

_‘Out of breath, little brother?’ Sam teased. ‘No’, Nate gave him a friendly poke. Sam suddenly stood up and walked towards the chimney where he left his bag._

_‘I got a little present for you. It’s not much, but I hope you like’, he said before disappearing behind the chimney. Curiously Nate tried to peak behind it, but Sam said: ‘Close your eyes!’ Nate obeyed. He could hear his brother approaching. There was a soft plum of the bag dropping before him. But he could also hear some clink of… glass?_

_‘You can open your eyes now’, Sam said softly. With a smile the younger boy opened his eyes. Sam had brought some snacks and even two bottles of beer._

_‘No way! You brought beer with you? And my favourite candy bar?’, Nate’s jaw dropped a bit. Next there was a smile, too bright for his face, brightened the younger Drake’s face. Sam nodded._

_‘Yup, I got it all’, he smiled. Nate grinned, he really had the_ best _brother in the whole world. Always surprising him._

_‘You know, you’re actually way too young to drink that, but I know how strict they are at the orphanage. So I thought, maybe you could use some good liquor’, Sam added._

_With a little pop the bottles were opened and one of them was handed to Nate._

_The first swig was a bit weird but also somehow refreshing in this warm weather. ‘Well, do you like it?’ Sam asked after taking a shot himself. ‘A bit tingly. But it’s… it’s good!’, Nate mumbled. Sam patted him on his head. ‘Now you’re a real man’, he chuckled._

_And so the two brothers Drake sat down on the roof of a high building, satisfied with a beer in their hand, looking at the stars. Sam would now and then point out another constellation. Giving it its proper Latin name, which they learned at the Saint Francis Boys' Home._

_They were young and free. Nate wished this night would never end._

_After the bottles were emptied, and it was quick, Nate felt a bit funny. He wondered if it was just the temperature, the height of the roof or if he was really tipsy._

_‘You alright?’, his older brother asked. ‘You’re a bit red’, he pointed out. ‘I’m okay, Sam’, Nate mumbled. He snuggled up to his taller brother._

_‘You smell really nice, Sam’, he mused while also gazing into his brother’s eyes. They had a gray, almost silverfish shade. Maybe it was the bright full moon, or maybe it was the beer, but my were Sam’s eyes beautiful._

_Suddenly Nate felt very warm and very conscious about his position, how he seemed to cling to his brother now. He pushed himself a little up so that his eyes were on the same height as Sam’s._

_They were face to face now and very close too. Nate could almost smell the beer and also a hint of cigarette smoke on his brothers lips._

_‘Uhm.. Nate?’ Sam hesitated. ‘What are you doing?’ And as if interrupted from a dream, Nate backed off. He swallowed and felt his heart beat suddenly faster. Quickly he looked down at his feet._

_‘Nothing’ he muttered, a bit embarrassed of his actions._

_It must be the beer, Sam thought. Or was it? No, it must be the beer. Sam shrugged it off like it never happened. And so did Nate._


	2. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reunion of the brothers Drake after 15 years of separation and the supposed death of Sam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still figuring out when and how the third time will happen. Hope you enjoyed this second little chapter :)

Second time

_Nate couldn’t believe his eyes when he first saw the other man._

_Fifteen years had passed, fifteen goddamned years without his brother. And now? Now he stood there in the room next to him. Knocking at Nate’s office door like an annoying client. Before Nate knew it was his long lost brother, he had given the guy at the other side of the door the nickname “asshole”._

_He felt his heart skip a bit when the other man mentioned he was looking for a younger brother._

_Although they both aged fifteen years, he still recognized his brother and friend. Both of them had indeed aged, but Sam still had his hair combed back like he did before the_ “accident”.

_‘Sam…?’ Nate hesitated a bit, still in a daze. The taller man smiled and nodded slightly. ‘It’s good to see you again, Nathan.’_

_It felt like a heavy weight fell of his shoulders. Ever since Sam’s supposed death, there was this tired and heavy feeling. As if somebody put a thick block of concrete on his chest. He tried to suppress the very feeling for all these years. Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes it didn’t. If it wasn’t for Sully or Elena or any other inspiring person he met on his journeys, he wasn’t sure if he would survive. Although these persons certainly filled his heart, there was still that one blank space left that couldn’t be completed._

_But that heavy feeling was now gone. Completely gone. Nathan Drake could breathe again._

_‘Good to see you again, Nathan’, Sam said. Finally that familiar voice saying his name almost brought tears to Nate’s eyes.. He never knew how much he had missed his brother’s voice until now. And as if it was a reflex, Nate hugged the other man. ‘My god, Sam!’_

_They stood there in the silent room. Nate embraced his brother strongly. He wished he could hold him like this forever, never letting him slip away again. Never. His head was placed Sam’s shoulder._

_‘You still smoke, don’t you?’ Nate hummed._

_He could feel the vibration of Sam’s laugh against his own chest. ‘Yes, I still do. Old habits never die. Not even when you’re in prison, I guess’, the older Drake brother answered, sadness arose in his voice. The mention of the prison caused a little silence again._

_‘I- I should’ve dug deeper into the case. But everything confirmed you were dead. I- I, maybe I should’ve-‘, heavy guilt struck Nate as he stood there. He slowly took a few steps back, releasing Sam of his strong embrace. He felt his shoulders shock uncontrollably as tears started to stream down his face. All the emotions, the relief, the happiness of the sudden reunion but also the sadness, the guilt… they all seemed to smack him into the face at the same time._

_‘We killed a guard, Nathan. They wanted to see me rot in that cell for the rest of my life. And I almost did…. But you shouldn’t put the guilt all on yourself. You did your best, I believe it. You would’ve come. I know, Nathan. I know. You couldn’t have done more’, his brother tried to reassure him._

_‘I- I am so sorry for what happened Sam. We should never, we…’, the smaller man dried his tears with his sleeve._

_‘Come here, little brother’, now it was Sam who hugged Nate. ‘It’s alright, I’m here now and that’s all that matters right now’, he hushed. Nate carefully put his head to rest on Sam’s shoulder again._

_The smell of cigarette smoke and another familiar scent that was typically Sam’s, made Nate relax more._

I really would’ve come for you again. I abandoned the idea of getting Avery’s Treasure. I wouldn’t, I couldn’t do it without you.

_And while his emotions started to stabilize, another feeling suddenly creeped into his mind. It was the feeling he had years ago. Even before the whole Panama incident._

_He felt like he had a déja vu. The familiar posture of how they stood. Of course the familiar smell. But also the familiar closeness he once had with his brother._

_Then Nate remembered. He recalled what happened on that warm summer night on the roof of a tall building. He looked back at how he tried to kiss his brother. How he really wanted to kiss him. Often that memory would pop up in his mind again. Every time he tried to blame it on the beer he drank that night. But deep inside his heart, Nate knew it wasn’t the beer. Maybe the beer only gave him the courage to act upon that feeling._

_And as if he was in a haze, he looked up to his brother. His eyes, still a bit watery, inspected the other man’s gray eyes. The same shade they had all those years ago._

_Nate removed his hands from his brother’s back and moved them to his shoulders. A firm grip wrinkled Sam’s vest. Nate locked his eyes with Sam’s. Just like that night, Nate slowly started to close the distance between their faces. He closed his eyes and could hear Sam take a deep breath._

_Nate opened his eyes again to meet confused gray eyes. Quickly Nate shook his head, stroked his jaw nervously and took two steps back._

_‘I need some air’, he murmured, more to himself then to Sam._

He could kill himself, what a dumb move was that supposed to be? What should Sam think now? They just reunited and all Nate could do was trying to kiss his older brother?

_Sam didn’t seem to mind the thing, or he just pretended not to care. He casually followed his younger brother to the docks._

_‘You’re not gonna pass out on me or nothin’, are you?’ he asked humorously. ‘I- I just might’, Nate responded with a small stutter. He could still feel his heart beat faster than normal._

_Nate wanted so many things. When and how did Sam got out? Did someone help him? Why couldn’t he visit Nate sooner? But Sam wanted to know more about Nate’s adventures. Apparently he had contacted some people before meeting Nate._

_And just like that Nate told his brother all about his wild adventures. About how he discovered El Dorado, how he explored Shambhala and the discovery of Iram of the Pillars._

_And Sam enjoyed everything, every little detail of what Nate told him. He enjoyed it how little stars lightened up in Nate’s eyes as talked about everything he had achieved._

_He could hardly believe the stories, but then again Nate was a Drake. With all the wild adventurous stories he had experienced, Sam might actually believe they really were descendants from Sir Francis Drake himself._

 


	3. Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Nate argue about the treasure and Nate wonders if there even is a Libertalia, much to the annoyance of Sam of course, who is eagerly to find that treasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on the next chapter, so stay tuned :D Also thanks for the kudo's! I really appreciate it!  
> I have to say I'm really enjoying writing this little fanfic! It will probably the first time I actually go finish a story!

_ Third time _

__

_Nate climbed for his life when all the rocks beneath him started to crumble down, falling hundreds of feet into nowhere. His hands luckily found some support and he clambered back up to the steady ground._

_He just got up when he felt the presence of another man. Out of reflex he pulled out his gun, pointing at the stranger. The other guy did the same. A soft chuckle._

_‘I nearly shot your head off’, Sam said. He lowered the weapon carefully and relaxed his stiffened posture. 'Sam… you’re okay’, Nate sighed, still  a bit exhausted from the heavy climb._

_‘Yeah, nothing I can’t walk away from’, Sam responded. It was true, Sam had walk away from many things in his life. The orphanage, the cops, Panama Prison…. How was he still breathing, Nate sometimes wondered._

_‘It’s good to see you alive, little brother’, Sam said, clapping Nate on his shoulder. He slowly started to walk again. ‘C’mon, we got a treasure to find!’ he added. But the younger brother lifted his arm._

_‘Hold up man, I mean… what are we doing?_

_‘What do you mean?’ Sam asked, frowning his brow. What was his brother talking about? ‘I mean our supplies are at the bottom of the Indian Ocean’, Nate kind of pointed helplessly with his arms._

_‘Okay, so we steal some from Nadine’s Army’, Sam replied as if it was nothing. Sure they could do that, just steal from an entire Army that was looking for them!_

_‘Yeah, and there’s that against an army!’ Nate responded a bit frustrated. ‘We’ve been holding our own so far’, Sam now protested, not understanding what the problem of his little brother was._

_‘While being marooned in the middle of nowhere’, Nate stated as he sat down on a near rock._

_‘We were trying to get here, remember?’ his older brother exclaimed. The tension clearly started to grow between them now. ‘When we had an escape plan’, Nate replied._

_Nate was quite tired of the climbing. It wasn’t the only thing. There were other things that weighed heavily upon him now as well. Like how they travelled almost around the whole goddamn world to find that treasure. How he had lied to his wife instead just telling her the truth, making her tag along immediately. The feeling of being watched by Nadine and Rafe’s men. How they were actually surrendered to this unknown place, maybe full of traps._

_‘Just hear me out—crazy suggestion… let’s go down there and secure at least one of Rafe’s boats?’ He wanted to sound less desperately, but you could hear it in his voice._

_Sam on the other hand, was pretty sure of what the plan would and should be._

_‘The boat can wait’, he answered bluntly. Nate sighed, why did they both have to be so stubborn?_

_‘You want to know what we’re doing here?’ Sam asked as he stepped forwards to his brother. ‘We are buying my life back!’_

_That was right. The other thing that weighed on Nate’s mind. The fact that even when he got his brother back, that didn’t mean Sam was safe. In fact, some crazy drug lord, named Alcazar still wanted Sam’s head if he didn’t find that bloody treasure in time._

_‘Okay? And we’re doing that by stepping into that jungle and finding Libertalia’, Sam said. And just like annoying younger brothers use to go against their older siblings, Nate refuted: ‘Have you even seen any signs of a massive pirate colony? ‘Cause I sure the hell haven’t.’_

_‘You’re a little late to start developing doubts, don’tcha think?’ Sam growled back. Now Nate stood up, regaining some power. He grabbed his brother’s arm and exclaimed: ‘Look—can we at least acknowledge the chance that maybe Avery’s idea for a secrete pirate utopia  didn’t pan out?’_

_There could be so many arguments for that idea. Nate thought about how many difficulties he and the group had faced to find this deserted island. Let alone the fact that they lived in the 21 st century and those pirates didn’t. They had probably more difficulties with travelling and so much more._

_‘And maybe we’re just swept up in this fantasy, when instead we should be looking for a real way to save you?’, Nate continued irritated._

_Who said Alcazar wouldn’t just killed him after Sam handed out the treasure to him? What if Rafe or Nadine still showed up and kill them both? There were so many ways this whole treasure hunting could go wrong. And the last thing Nate wanted, was having his brother killed “again”. Having to lose him once more, just because someone wants to see money roll. Someone says the word ‘treasure’ or ‘money’ and an trigger is easily pulled, Nate understood it very well. He had experienced many times what could happen to someone who lusted so much after gold._

_At this moment he was frustrated that he didn’t seem to be able to convince his brother otherwise._

_The brothers Drake looked intensely into each other’s eyes for a short period of time. Nate thought he detected a change in the way Sam looked at him. Did he… change his mind?_

_‘I’m gonna scour this island inch by inch if I have to—until I find that treasure’, Sam disputed. He added with a big frown: ‘Now if you’re confused about what you’re doing here…’_

Why won’t you just shut up? How… how can I get you to shut the hell up about that stupid treasure? How can I stop you from rambling on about this? How can I….

 

_Nate’s train of thoughts was stopped by the bitter words his brother ended his sentence with._

_‘Then you can go home, Nathan.’ Sam kind of pushed Nate away to reinforce his statement. The younger sibling now widened his eyes in full disbelief and surprise. Sam already turned his back to him, wanting to wander off without Nate._

_‘Wait, wait, wait. I can go home?’ Nate put extra intonation on his last word, while at the same time grabbing Sam’s shoulder steadily. ‘Are you kidding me?’ He could beat his stubborn but mostly foolish brother in the face right now._

_‘Do you have any idea what I put on the line to get you here?!’, Nate shouted._

 

I lied to Elena for your sake! I even dragged Sully back into this again.

 

 _‘How about what_ I _put on the line?’ Sam argued annoyed. The wrinkles in his forehead seemed to deepen due to the angered expression he pulled. ‘The last fifteen years—‘_

Maybe I should just kiss the hell out of you! Maybe that should finally shut you up…!?

 

_Nate marched to his older brother. Without hesitating he slapped both hands on Sam’s face, but carefully enough to not squeeze the other man’s cheeks. The next thing he did, was pressing his own forehead against Sam’s. His brother didn’t move nor did he even flinch at the sudden contact._

_‘This has nothing to do with that!’, Nate growled. ‘It is everything to do with that!’, Sam snarled back with an equally force in his voice. Nate answered only with his body pressing more against the other enraged man._

_His nose bumped into Sam’s. Nate’s heart started to beat faster, just like_ those _other times. And the taller man only gasped a little. There was the scent of sweat, a weak trail of cigarettes again and the_

_nice, sweet aroma that was purely Sam’s. And it made Nate somewhat… aroused._

_Instead of looking at Sam, who was probably questioning Nate’s weird behavior again or downright ignoring it, Nate now examined the scenery behind his brother. It was then when the younger Drake detected something odd. The growth of some plants seemed… deflected. As if they somehow were_ forced _to grow differently. Sam pulled himself away from Nate to look curiously at the same spot._

_‘What?’, he asked. His voice had changed back to a more neutral tone, less angrily._

_Nate had discovered another clue that would hopefully led them one step closer to Avery’s Treasure._

_‘You still wanna go home?’ Sam almost grinned. ‘Let’s just see what else we can find’, Nate’s voice trailed off a bit as he started looking for more clues. Sam followed and Nate was happy that his brother couldn’t see the growing arousal in his pants._

Maybe _this_ feeling will disappear again, like always… right?

 


	4. I love you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well, if this is how it’s gonna end… then I’m willing to die here with you. Brothers from the start, brothers till the end, right?", Nate says, almost choking on his own tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the last chapter is up! I hope you liked this story :D  
> Maybe I'll continue with writing small ficlets of these. maybe even some Sam/Rafe ;)

First kiss

__

_‘Sam!’, Nate yelled desperately. He had successfully entered the bottom of Avery’s ship, but his brother was nowhere to be seen. ‘Sam!’ Nate repeated while raising his voice to the maximum._

 

No, no, no! Sam, my God where are you?

__

_They had come so far and now this… this madness. A ship on the edge of collapsing, a missing brother, again, and Nadine and Rafe were still out there, probably dangerously near Nate. The younger Drake brother found some of Avery’s treasure as he went deeper into the ship, but he was too tired and too worried about that stupid brother of his to even care about the glimmering gold that was ripe for the picking._

‘Was it worth it?’ Maybe, maybe not. It was not like we risked our lives or something like that, finding that treasure.

_When Nate opened the heavy wooden door that led to another room, he was greeted with a thick layer of smoke, due to the beginning of a fire. Nate coughed and waved his hands to get rid of the dust and smoke. ‘Sam?’_

_He heard a coughing growl. It sure wasn’t Sam’s voice. Immediately Nate pulled out his revolver._

_And then Rafe appeared out of the smoke with also a gun in his hand. Rafe looked different from before. Less calm and calculated. A few strings of hair were glued to his forehead because of all the sweat. A stream of blood had ran from his head down into his neck. Nate frowned with his eyebrows, slowly becoming more angry. That bastard, did he…_

_‘Hey, Nate’, Rafe greeted, clearly enjoying the confusion and angst in the face of the younger Drake brother._

_‘Where is Sam?!’, Nate snarled back. He almost regretted asking it. Rafe tilted his head to his left side: ‘Oh, he’s right there.’ A big wooden beam seemed to be broken and fallen onto Sam’s chest._

_It felt like there was not a hope in hell that Sam survived that big wooden beam that seemed to crush his body._

_‘Sam!’, Nate yelled, although it would be pointless._

_‘Relax, he’s alive’, Rafe contradicted, ‘Y’know, this idiot nearly got us all killed’, Rafe added._

_‘I’m getting him outta here’, Nate declared while keeping Rafe at gunpoint. ‘No’, was Rafe’s flat answer. ‘You’re not.’_

_This was bad, Nate thought. Maybe… just maybe he could still compromise with that rich bastard? ‘Rafe, you can have the treasure, all right? Just let me save my brother.’ But as estimated, Rafe only laughed Nate’s proposal off like it was some kind of joke. ‘After everything he’s done…? How noble of you. But no.’_

_Nate felt his heart sink at the last words of Rafe’s cold answer. Why did he have to be so stubborn? They all made sacrifices, they all had done stupid things. But did it really have to end like this?_

_‘We stay here any longer and we’re all dead. Is that what you really want?’, Nate tried to reason with him a last time._

_‘That’s not what I said’, Rafe coldly replied. ‘What do you think, Nadine?’ Nadine suddenly showed up on the doorstep, slowly walking down the stairs, making Nate her target too. ‘Good to see you up and about’, Rafe grinned wickedly.  ‘Be a dear and relieve Nate there of his gun?’_

_‘Hand it over’, Nadine commanded, blindly obeying the madman’s orders. If Nate couldn’t reason with Rafe, maybe he could with Nadine._

_‘You really think you can trust him?’ he tried. After he had seen how Rafe hit her and actually forced her to rejoining with him, there might be a chance to…_

_‘Not your concern’, Nadine disrupted the hopeful thoughts. ‘Now, what are you trying to instigate? Nate? Nadine and I are partners. I don’t screw over my partners’ Rafe sounded a bit amused with the helpless situation Nate found himself in. Nate knew he referred to Sam, who betrayed Rafe in the end._

_‘Get over there’, he walked over to Nadine, driving Nate back._

_‘You and your brother though…’ he began, ‘Right from the start, you took advantage of my generosity.’_

 

And you took advantage of us being your monkeys to get you find all those clues, doing some of the dirty work.

 

_‘You tried to cut me out and it’s high time you learned--’ Rafe was cut midsentence by the click of a revolver against the back of his head. Nadine’s revolver against the back of his neck._

_‘What are you doing?’, he asked slowly. He swallowed in annoyance. ‘Now you give me your gun’, Nadine switched the roles they had played for so long. Rafe only chuckled: ‘Nadine’, but he took back the other words he wanted to say when he felt more pressure to his head. ‘I won’t ask you again’, Nadine threatened. Defeated he handed the gun behind his back to the woman. ‘You are being… profoundly stupid right now.’_

_‘Look over there’ she growled. ‘Nadine, stop screwing around’ Rafe tried to approach her but she shot a hole into the ground, right before he would be standing if he hadn’t react quickly enough._

_‘Jesus!’ he shouted, clearly losing his forced patience. ‘I said look!’ Nadine insisted._

_‘Okay, it’s a couple of skeletons. So what?’, Rafe answered annoyed. ‘I don’t know as much about history as you boys… but I’ve got a pretty god idea who those two are’, Nadine explained._

_‘It’s Avery and Tew. They killed each other’ Nate completed Nadine’s sentence. ‘Good for them. What’s the point?’ Rafe snorted._

_‘Everyone obsessed with this treasure gets what he deserves’ the woman now started to back off. ‘So what, you’re just leaving us here to die?’ Nate exclaimed. He thought maybe Nadine changed her mind and wanted to side with Nate when she turned against Rafe. But how he was wrong. Why would she? He and his brother also caused a lot of trouble to Shoreline. Of course she wanted some kind of revenge. Be it that three of her opponents would die here together with all the treasure._

_Nate’s head was cloudy and he didn’t hear what Nadine was saying anymore. He only saw how she closed that heavy door behind her, leaving him with that maniac called Rafe Adler._

_‘Rafe, she is gone! C’mon, give me a hand; we’ll all get out of here!’, he yelled at the enraged man while kneeling next to his brother, trying to heave up the wooden structure._

We can all get out of this hell. We walk it off like it never happened. Everyone can go their own way again. Me and my brother go back to our lives and you go back to yours.

 

_While Nate was yanking at the obstacle, Rafe strode to the remaining bones that were once Avery and Tew. He pulled out one of the swords with a little struggle. When Nate noticed the danger, he jumped up and trailed backwards, still facing the other man. ‘All right, just calm down. You can practice your fencing when we get out’, Nate wanted to cool Rafe down, but nothing seemed to help. The bastard was probably too far gone, losing his mind over that treasure that now surrounded the three men._

_‘Nate, just shut up!’ he had lost his temper completely. The still sharp looking sword was pointed at him and Rafe approached closer and closer. ‘Seriously, Rafe… this is insane, even for you’ Nate pointed out._

_Someone says the word ‘treasure’ or ‘money’ and an trigger is easily pulled. Or, in this case, a sword is drawn._

_‘You want to hear insane? “Nathan Drake raced a madman and his entire army to the steps of Shambhala” ’, a strong and sudden attack made Nate jump clumsily back, just avoiding the sharp point of the blade by a hair’s breadth._

_‘ “Nathan Drake found a lost city in the middle of the Rub’ al Khali desert’”, another wild attack._

_‘God damn it! Come on, we can get out of here together’, Nate shouted at Rafe. Although he knew it was a lost case. Adler only rambled on about the “insane” adventures from Nate._

_‘ “Nathan Drake discovered the fabled El Dorado”’,  a wooden plank fell from the ceiling as Rafe attacked Nate once again. This was bad, Nate thought. He didn’t have a weapon at his disposal now. He could only dodge the unpredictable attacks of the now psychopathic man._

_‘ “Nathan Drake is a legend” , an_ insane _laugh comes from Rafe’s mouth. While circling around Nate, he continues: ‘You know, I shot the man who told me that.’_

_There was a terrible fight. Metal clashing against metal. Heavy breathing. From time to time the sound of a blade slashing into flesh. A pungent smell of blood mixed with sweat._

_There was a crumbling ship, on the edge of collapsing and exploding._

_Fire flickering, covering almost every wall, creating an arena of fire._

_And in the midst of that burning arena, two men fought. Two men fought for their dreams and hopes._

_One fought only for himself, for his pride, to get revenge on the two thieves who had wronged him._

_The other fought not only for himself, but also for his brother. He fought for freedom. He wanted to get out of this sinister place._

_It seemed like an never-ending battle where no one would win. Even if one would defeat the other, that person would sooner or later be crushed by the very ship he was standing in._

‘It’s all yours’, Nate says exhausted and almost defeated.

With one last blow with his now shattered sword, Nathan Drake cuts the rope that kept the bag of gold hanging safely on the ceiling. Nate rolls away just in time before the heavy treasure hits the ground,  crushing Rafe in a surprise with it. Without checking if Rafe is really dead, Nate stumbles  to his brother. He hopes he isn’t too late.

 

Eyelids are closed. Tears well into Nate’s eyes. He starts sobbing uncontrollably. His breathing comes in short and irregular gasps.

_Damnit, I’m… I’m too late_.

 

Nate kneels down by the body of Sam. With his vision clouded due to the tears, he stares at the other man’s body that doesn’t seem to move anymore. Not even a flinch.

 ‘S- Sam? S- Sam… a- are you…?’, he asks with a tremulous voice, not daring to finish his sentence. His heart is filled with a storm of emotions: rage, frustration, fear, sorrow, a slight spark of hope that his brother might be unconscious.

 Nate weeps and dries his tears with a filthy sleeve.

 

 _We should… we should never try to find that dreadful treasure. Look where it has brought us, brother! There has nothing been but loss and frustration because of it._ _If we just…. You shouldn’t have lied._

_You bastard._

_However, there’s nothing else I can do but to forgive you, you know that? You probably had your reason and…You’ll always be my older brother. The one where I looked and always will look up to the most. And now? Here we are._

‘The world around us is burning and collapsing, Rafe is dead. Nadine has left us to die here. In the end she even betrayed that rich son of a bitch. Elena and Sully are probably waiting for us’, Nate mutters. He glares at his older brother.

 

_What should I-- what should we do? Can I even do something about the mess? What would you do in this situation, if it was I who laid here? Damnit! It’s not fair._

_Well, if this is how it’s gonna end… then I’m willing to die here with you. Brothers from the start, brothers till the end, right?_

_If that’s the case I might just find the courage to…_

A bit hesitating, Nate bends over to Sam’s face. Dried blood on the bridge of his nose where Rafe had slapped him, a blue purplish bump where Rafe kicked him.

Nate gently places one hand on Sam’s beaten and roughened up cheek, starting to caress it.

 ‘I love you, Samuel’, he whispers. Finally the sentence he had always wanted to say but never dared to say. Afraid of rejection or maybe even disgust from the other man.

 A small tear falls from his left cheek, slowly dripping on Sam’s face.

_It always was just more than liking you. I didn’t only like, I really loved you. More than just brotherly love._

Nate leans in and brings his face closer to Sam’s. His brother still doesn’t move.

‘I love you’, Nate repeats. He takes a deep breath and then kisses Sam on his scratched forehead. It is a soft and tender kiss. He nearly touches the other man. Then he presses another light kiss on his older brother’s nose.

 ‘You’ve been there for me in my first moments. I’ll be here for you in your last moment’ Nate snivels.

 

_It’s now or never._

 

Another kiss on the lips. After everything they’ve been through, Sam still has that scent of cigarette smoke on him. Nate could also taste it. This kiss is a bit rougher than the other soft kisses Nate had given his brother. It was a last kiss. A goodbye.

 

‘Didn’t fairy tales told you to kiss the beautiful sleeping princesses awake and not some old guy like me?’

After the last kiss, Nate had shut his eyes but now he opened them in disbelief. Two watery gray eyes looked at him. A smile on Sam’s mouth. Nate hold back a little cry of happiness and said:

 ‘Well, you are _my_ princess then. Now let’s get you out of here!’

 

Desperately Nathan tries to find a way to escape the burning room. His heart beating fast now, knowing that his brother was well, very alive.

 _The canon!_ He runs to it, lights the thing and blows a hole into the floor, making a big flood of water reach the surface.

With a little less effort, Sam can wriggle free from the beam holding him in place.

 

The brothers Drake make it just in time before the ship really explodes.

 ‘Keep going!’ Nate yells as he sees the exit of the cave collapsing as well. A new power has filled his body to keep on swimming. His brother close behind.

And so they swim to their freedom. Once again, united and free.

 

When Nate and Sam reach the surface again, they are almost out of breath. They look into each other’s eyes and laugh. The taller man swims closer to Nate. He presses both hands on Nate’s cheeks. A wide grin on his face.

 ‘We made it, little brother. Can you actually believe it?! We did it, Nathan!’ and this time, it’s Sam who makes the first move. He almost crushes his lips against Nate’s. It’s a rough kiss. Nate could say it was a bit hungry and desperate. But he couldn’t deny that he didn’t like it. He actually had thought a lot about kissing his brother and his brother kissing him too. But he never imagined it to come true. Certainly not in this way.

 

‘I love you too, Nathan’ Sam smiles.

‘D- did you hear… ?’, Nate asks a bit embarrassed now, a flush now spread across his cheeks. Sam laughs and nods. ‘Everything. Now let’s get back on shore, right?’ Nate shakes his head. Yes, the water is getting a bit cold.

 

Nathan Drake gladly follows his brother for the last time.

 

When they are in the plane, the brothers sit next to each other. Big grins across their faces. They all made it out alive.

Nate looks at Sam. He is greeted with a warm smile. Nate claps his brother friendly on his lap. He then turns away, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

He is satisfied and happy. From now on, nothing will ever go wrong again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I first planned to have a sad ending, not going with the canon storyline, but I couldn't bring it up to make Sam or/and Nate die together ;_;  
> And thus I went with the happy ending!  
> Also writing combat scenes is freaking hard, so I lazily skipped it :P I also wanted to keep the story centered on the Drake brothers. Thanks for reading and leaving kudo's! This fandom really is amazing <3


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